


The End.

by halla_lavellan



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 13:38:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11186250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halla_lavellan/pseuds/halla_lavellan
Summary: This does not have a happy ending.The end of their story.





	The End.

He was standing far above the battle when she first appeared.

Some distant part of him had known that she would be there. And yet nothing prepared him for the way the air fled his lungs at the sight of her. He felt sure that she had seen him, too - though she was far below him, he felt her gaze as she paused and looked towards him for a time, foot soldiers guarding her back, before she turned back to the fray.

_How very like her,_ he had thought when he first saw her below him. She would not be commanding her armies from a distance, as he was. She had always been the first to lead the charge.

He waved away a messenger who had arrived at his side and focused his vision, looking towards her. Despair grew in the deepest part of him. Three years, now, since the last time they touched, when he pulled the mark from her hand and left her broken, steeled himself and walked through the eluvian, though every inch of him cried out to _look back, don’t go, you can stay_ -

His hands had begun to shake when he saw one of his soldiers break through the line of guards and move towards her, and a great cry tore from his throat and he leaped forward involuntarily but it was over in an instant - she was falling to the ground and her men were closing ranks around her -

Ancient words poured from his throat and he threw his hands skyward and he felt a terrible surge of power rush from his chest down to the field, turning everything and everyone to stone - a great shockwave of green magic, and as it reached close to her he pulled up a barrier so she was protected, and when at last his spell was done he fell to his knees -

_What have I done? What have I done?_

* * *

 

He picked his way down the cliff, moving towards her, numb in every part of him. He had frozen time inside the barrier, so maybe, possibly, somehow, she was still alive. Every step was painful, his walk a funeral march.

Finally he reached his barrier and tugged it away, knelt at her side. A great wound had torn her chest and she was unconscious, breathing, shallowly and raggedly. He knew she could not survive, not here. But an idea began to grow. Perhaps - there was a chance -

He moved his hands gently along her chest and slowed the bleeding, then rose and lifted her into his arms. She was so light, now, so small and so weak. These years had taken their toll, and he hated himself, hated what he had done to her, felt the chasm of everything she had lost in his wake.

He forced himself to walk, moving among the stones, thousands of lives he had ended in his agony.

He reached the shore of the ocean and found an old fisherman’s hut, burned down months ago. A small boat still lay on the rocks. He placed her down and wrapped his mantle around her. They had a long journey to travel.

He pushed off from shore and trailed a hand in the water, moving the boat forward with his magic, and after a time he reached out with his other hand and felt for a small tear - _yes, there, this will work_ \- and he tore a great hole in the fabric of the world - _it was so easy, now, to create rifts, the Veil was so weak_ \- and they sailed through, the boat moving silently into the Fade.

* * *

 

He recognized this place. It was the lair of the Nightmare through which they had journeyed together so very long ago. _Why here?_ a quiet voice wondered. He silenced it. He had more power, here. Perhaps he could still save her.

A sound from behind him and he turned to look at her.

She had risen to a crouch and was glaring at him, face blazing with hatred. He looked down. She had drawn a small crossbow and had lain it in her lap, drawn and ready, aimed towards his stomach. Time slowed and he felt a strange rush of emotions. Though he knew it was ridiculous, he felt a powerful surge of pride and love for her, admiration at her intelligence and determination - despite the arm he had taken from her, she had taught herself to fight, would end the war that he had started -

He slowly raised his eyes back to her face and felt a small smile on his lips despite himself. _Var lath vir suledin,_ he breathed, the words more mouthed than spoken -

And a great change came over her in that moment and a sob fell from her mouth, great tears slipping down her cheeks though he could see that she was fighting it -

_Ar lath ma,_ she said, voice cracking, and as the bow of the boat came to rest against the shore she loosed her bolt and he felt dimly as it slammed between his ribs, looked down to see blood pouring from beneath his fingers -

She rose and came to the front of the boat, took his hand, and they stepped together to the shore.

They stood side by side, gazing back towards the water, hands clasped, blood dripping down both of their arms and falling, forming a small pool between them. She rested her head on his shoulder until he could stand no longer and he fell to the earth.

_She looked down at him, exhaustion in every line on her face, and lay down gently near to his side. She was dying and she knew it. They lay together and watched the strange green smoke swirl overhead, and her last thought as the darkness finally closed was that his greatest fear had not come to pass, and he would not be dying alone._

[](http://imgur.com/t8ZN99y)

 


End file.
